Ken Griffin has been running the same playbook for nearly two decades. In 2007, a rival fund needed to dump a $30B portfolio before Monday's open to survive margin calls. A competing banker said, "It's getting late, we'll pick this up in the morning." Griffin replied: "There will be nothing to pick up in the morning." By 6 AM, Citadel had bought the entire portfolio. Fast forward to 2026. Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI-focused hedge fund blew up after leveraged AI bets unravelled. Margin calls hit, public positions had to be sold, and once again... Citadel was waiting. It bought the bulk of the fund's public equity portfolio while everyone else was still processing the chaos. When others are deciding whether to act, Citadel is already wiring the money. No wonder Griffin ends the story with President Lincoln's quote: "Things may come to those who wait, but only those things left by those who hustle."